Under Armour overtakes sales projections to hit $1.05 billion

Under Armour topped first-quarter earnings estimates and raised its annual forecast, offering fresh evidence that the athletic-apparel maker can maintain its growth pace.

Earnings rose to 4 cents a share last quarter, the Baltimore-based company said on Thursday before the market opened.

Analysts had estimated 2 cents on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Sales advanced to $1.05 billion, beating the average projection of $1.04 billion. The results helped ease concerns that Under Armour - whose sales have more than doubled in the past four years - was losing steam.

Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley cut its target price on the shares, citing third-party data that showed weakness in its women’s apparel.

But the company demonstrated growth in a range of categories on Thursday. Footwear sales jumped 64 per cent to $264 million, helped by a basketball shoe from NBA star Stephen Curry.

"The strong results posted this quarter truly demonstrate the balanced growth of our brand across product categories, channels and geographies," chief executive Kevin Plank said in the statement.

The stock rose as much as 6.9 per cent to $46.99 in early trading after the results were posted.

- Bloomberg